f7.&t  ;*a- 


Circular  No.  122. 


i.  1910. 


United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 


BUREAU   OF   ENTOMOLOGY 
L.  O.  HOWARD,  Entomologist  and  Chie 


THE  STATUS  OF  THE  COTTON  I 

Bj    W.   D.   Hi  mi 
In  '  Southern 

\\u.\    [NFESTED 

All  the  regions  in  which  the  cotton  boll  wee 
1909  are  shown  on  the  accompanying  map  (fig 


ccur  m 

not  iced 


Fig.  1.    M  ,  •      ■  ei     Ions  In  which  the  cotton  boll  weevil  occurred  ia  1909. 

that  outside  of  the  United  States  the  insed  occurs  only  in  Mexico. 
Central  America,  and  Cuba.     The  infested  area  in  Texas  covers  all 


■  statements  in  this  circular  regarding  the  territory  infested  by  the  tjrjH 
cover  the  advance  made  by  the  insecl  up  to  the  close  of  tl^e  year  h90fl      since  that 
time  it  has  i  in  the  United  States  considj  rably.  as  will  be  shewn 

a  map  soon  to  be  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Entomoloj 

-  -10 


2  THE   STATUS   OF   THE   COTTON   BOLL   WEEVIL   IN   1909. 

except  the  western  cotton-producing  counties,  which  in  recent  years 
have  contributed  increasingly  to  the  crop  of  the  State.  Practically 
all  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  is  within  the  infested  territory.  In 
Mississippi,  23  counties  are  more  or  less  infested;  in  Arkansas,  20; 
and  in  Oklahoma,  15.  Of  the  total  cotton  acreage  in  the  States 
concerned,  the  weevil  is  found  in  about  80  per  cent  in  Texas,  30  per 
cent  in  Arkansas,  25  per  cent  in  Mississippi,  35  per  cent  in  Oklahoma, 
and  practically  100  per  cent  in  Louisiana.  This  area  comprises  very 
nearly  30  per  cent  of  the  cotton  acreage  in  the  United  States  in  the 
year  1909,  or  about  37  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  square  miles 
found  within  the  cotton  belt.  In  other  words,  a  portion  of  the 
infested  territory  includes  relatively  a  greater  acreage  devoted  to 
cotton  than  the  remainder  of  the  belt. 

It  is  important  to  note  that  along  the  extreme  outer  edge  of  the 
infested  territory  in  the  United  States  the  weevils  did  not  invade 
the  cotton  fields  until  late  in  the  season  of  1909;  too  late,  in  fact,  to 
do  any  damage  to  the  crop  of  that  year. 

The  infested  area  includes  many  regions  in  which  the  boll  weevil 
problem  takes  on  local  aspects.  There  is  the  greatest  diversity  of 
climatic  and  other  conditions  which  react  on  the  insect  in  such  a 
way  as  to  establish  areas  of  varying  degrees  of  damage.  These 
individual  areas  will  not,  of  course,  display  a  constant  amount  of 
damage  each  season,  but  in  a  series  of  years  will  show  features  that 
serve  to  differentiate  them  from  each  other.  In  general,  the  damage 
is  least  on  the  dry  plains  of  the  western  portion  of  Texas  and  increases 
toward  the  east.  Where  a  large  precipitation  is  combined  with  the 
presence  of  an  abundance  of  timber,  as  in  portions  of  Louisiana,  the 
damage  is  greatest. 

Nothing  has  transpired  up  to  the  present  time  to  indicate  that  the 
weevil  will  not  eventually  reach  the  northernmost  and  easternmost 
portions  of  the  cotton  belt.  Its  advance  to  the  east  will  be  more 
rapid  than  to  the  north.  This  is  on  account  of  the  lower  tempera- 
ture in  the  north,  to  which  it  seems  necessary  for  the  weevil  to  adapt 
itself  more  or  less  slowly.  In  some  seasons  the  northward  advance 
will  probably  be  checked  altogether  by  abnormal  conditions,  but  the 
experience  now  acquired  seems  to  indicate  that  the  weevil  will 
eventually  overcome  any  climatic  barriers  that  may  be  encountered. 
Although  the  advance  to  the  east  and  north  seems  to  be  certain, 
there  is  a  large  region  in  the  west  into  which  the  weevil  can  make  its 
way  only  with  very  great  difficulty,  if  at  all.  In  the  high,  open  plains 
of  western  Texas,  where  cotton  production  has  developed  enormously 
in  the  last  ten  years,  the  conditions  of  the  winters  and  summers 
combined  will  probably  serve  as  an  effective  barrier  against  the 
weevil.  In  that  region  there  is  little  timber  in  which  the  insects 
may  obtain  shelter  from  the  severe  winters.     Moreover,  the  normal 


M'l    STATUS  OF    CHE  COTTOK    BOLL  WEEVIL  IM    L909.  3 

dryness  of  the  summer  compared  to  thai  in  more  easterly  regions, 
causing  small  plants  and  little  shade,  will  acl  as  an  equalrj  strong 
check  upon  the  insect.  On  accounl  of  these  conditions  ii  can  qo( 
be  considered  thai  the  boll  weevil  i-  an  important  menace  to  the 
cultivation  of  cotton  in  the  territory  west  of  aboul  the  one-hundredf  !i 
meridian. 

FEATURES    OF   THE    SE  ISON    OF    1909. 

The  season  of  1909  was  verj  pecuhar  as  regards  damage  by  the 
l)oll  weevil.  The  preceding  season  (1908)  was  also  abnormal,  but  in 
quite  a  different  way.  The  two  abnormal  seasons  coming  in  succession 
ha\  e  nat  urally  vi\  en  rise  to  various  erroneous  ideas  about  i  he  future. 

The  situation  in  1908  was  affected  first  by  climatic  conditions  of 
the  fall  of  1907  and  the  following  winter.  These  allowed  an  unusu- 
ally small  number  of  weevils  to  pass  through  the  winter.  Experi- 
ments performed  with  many  thousands  of  weevils  in  large  field  cages 
show  ed  a  survn  al  <>f  about  3  per  cent  as  against  1 2  per  cent  aft  er  the 
winter  preceding  the  season  of  1907.  That  is,  about  four  times  as 
many  weevils  survived  to  damage  the  crop  in  1907  as  in  L908.  The 
records  based  upon  experimental  cages  were  corroborated  by  the 
inspection  of  about  300  fields  in  dune.  1908.  From  this  work  it  was 
found  that  in  the  represent  at  ive  fields  examined  there  w  as  an  average 
of  only  '■>  weevils  per  acre  in  uorthern  and  eastern  Texas  in  L908  as 
against  226  per  acre  in  1907.  In  August,  1 908,  an  examination  of  the 
degree  of  infestation  of  squares  in  many  localities  showed  .">  percent 
damage  as  against  54  per  cent  in  1907. 

Following  the  remarkably  disastrous  conditions  for  the  weevil 
in  1908  in  Texas  came  another  series  of  checks  in  L909  in  Texas 
in  June,  August,  and  September.  This  was  the  more  important 
because  the  pest  had  not  had  sufficient  time  to  recover  from  the  loss 
suffered  in  1908.  It  has  been  pointed  out  elsewhere  that  the  most 
important  check  to  the  weevil  in  Texas  is  dry  weather.  It  has 
been  found  that  the  damage  done  is  practically  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  precipitation  during  the  growing  season.  As  the  rainfall 
increases  the  damage  becomes  greater.  The  season  of  L909  in  Texas 
will  always  he  notable  on  account  of  the  extremely  dry  and  hot 
weather.  At  Fort  Worth  there  was  a  monthly  deficiency  in  rain- 
fall from  February  to  June,  inclusive,  of  over  1  inch.  The  accumu- 
lated deficiency  for  the  first  seven  months  in  the  year  was  10.42 
inches.  It  must  he  recalled  that  this  represents  practically  a  third 
of  the  normal  total  annual  rainfall  at  Fort  Worth.  Other  points  in 
the  portion  of  Texas  where  the  hulk  of  the  crop  is  produced  show 
similar  records.  At  Dallas,  for  instance,  the  accumulated  deficiency 
of  the  year  1909  up  to  August  1  was  l  l.i's  inches,  for  Waco  10.98 
inches,  for  Palestine  13.03  inches,  and  fur  Taylor  11.28  inches.  In 
addition  to  the  actual  shortage  in  rainfall  very  high  temperatures 
occurred.  The  droughl  w  ithoul  the  high  temperat  ures,  or  \  ice  \  ■ 
would  not  have  affected  the  weevil  especially.     The  tw«>  influences 


4  THE    STATUS   OF    THE    COTTON    BOLL    WEEVIL   IN    1909. 

combined,  however,  served  to  give  it  such  a  check  as  it  has  never 
experienced  in  this  country.  At  many  points  in  Texas  and  Louisi- 
ana all  records  for  summer  temperature  were  exceeded.  For  several 
days  the  thermometer  registered  over  110°  F.  and  in  some  cases  114° 
F.  was  reached.  On  the  surface  of  the  ground  the  temperature  was 
natural!}'  even  higher. 

No  one  who  traveled  in  Texas  during  the  season  of  1909  could 
have  failed  to  notice  the  effect  of  the  abnormal  climatic  conditions 
on  crops  of  all  kinds.  The  cotton  generally  grew  to  from  one-fourth 
to  one-half  of  the  normal  size.  The  conditions  were  so  adverse  that 
even  variety  characteristics  were  more  or  less  obliterated.  The 
same  conditions  acted  on  the  boll  weevil.  In  fact,  through  large 
productive  areas  in  central  and  northern  Texas  the  insect  was  so 
reduced  in  numbers  that  it  did  not  injure  the  crop  to  any  extent 
whatever. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  experience  of  the  season  of  1909 
shows  conclusively  that  while  a  certain  degree  of  dry  weather  is 
greatly  to  be  desired  for  the  controlling  effect  it  has  upon  the  boll 
weevil,  dryness  beyond  a  certain  degree  not  only  affects  the  boll 
weevil  adversely,  but  also  the  cotton  plant.  In  fact,  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  cotton  plant  was  so  stunted  by  the  dryness  that  it  was 
unable  to  derive  any  advantage  whatever  from  the  comparative 
scarcity  of  the  weevils. 

DISPERSION    OF    1909. 

As  regards  dispersion,  the  season  of  1909  was  almost  as  unusual 
as  in  other  respects.  In  one  region  by  far  the  largest  advance  ever 
recorded  was  made  by  the  weevil.  Tins  covered  120  miles  of  ter- 
ritory in  southern  Mississippi.  At  the  same  time  in  Oklahoma  the 
greatest  advance  was  only  30  miles,  while  throughout  the  greater 
portion  of  that  State  the  line  was  extended  only  about  10  miles. 
A  notable  feature  of  the  year's  dispersion  was  the  failure  of  the 
insect  to  extend  its  range  considerably  into  the  Yazoo  Delta  in  Mis- 
sissippi. During  the  preceding  year  an  exceedingly  light  infestation 
reached  the  extreme  southern  portion  of  the  delta.  This  was  the 
vanguard  of  a  flight  that  was  rather  extended.  During  the  season 
of  1909  the  insect  extended  its  range  in  that  quarter  only  about  15 
miles.  Why  there  should  be  an  advance  of  120  miles  in  southern 
Mississippi  and  only  15  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  State  at  first 
seems  obscure,  but  studies  that  have  been  made  indicate  the  expla- 
nation very  clearly.  One  of  the  primary  reasons  for  the  dispersion 
movement  of  the  weevil  seems  to  be  its  inclination  to  obtain  fresh 
food,  and  cotton  squares  in  which  to  breed.  Where  the  cotton  fields 
are  small  and  separated  by  considerable  distances,  this  instinct 
causes  the  weevils  to  fry  over  a  large  extent  of  territory.  On  the 
other  hand,  where  cotton  fields  are  numerous  it  is  unnecessary  for  a 
considerable  advance  to  be  made.     In  other  words,  a  region  of  light 


I'll  B  STAT1  EE   COTTOS    BOLL    W  II  All,    IN    L909.  5 

cotton  production  causes  the  dispersion  movement  to  be  spread  over 
more  territory,  while  a  region  of  heavy  cotton  production  abs 
the  \\  ee\  ils  t  bat  arc  compelled  to  fly  aw  a  \  from  the  locality  in  which 
they  were  produced.  This  undoubtedly  explains  in  pari  the  failure 
df  the  weevils  to  make  a  heavy  advance  into  the  Yazoo  Delta  dur- 
ing tin'  season  of  L909.  Moreover,  there  is  at  least  one  further  rea- 
son  for  the  situation  described.  'The  number  of  weevils  that  enter 
into  the  dispersion  movement  must  naturally  be  dependent  upon  the 
numbers  that  are  bred  in  the  cotton  fields  of  the  region  from  which 
the  dispersion  takes  place.  A  heavy  Infestation  in  a  certain  region, 
therefore,  means  a  large  number  of  weevils  to  fly  into  previously 
uninfested  territory.  In  a  contrary  way  a  light  infestation  means  a 
.natively  small  volume  of  weevils  to  fly  beyond  the  original 
territory.  In  northeastern  Louisiana,  the  locality  From  which  the 
Va/.oo  Delta  must  naturally  become  infested,  various  conditions 
caused  an  unusually  small  number  of  weevils  to  be  found  in  the 
fall  of  1909.  In  fact,  tin'  number  was  not  sufficient  to  cause  a 
heavy  dispersion  movement.  It  is  impossible  to  state  which  of  these 
factors  is  iicrc  import  ant ,  hut  in  all  probability  the  small  number 
ofweevilsin  northeastern  Louisiana  and  the  extensive  cotton  fields 
of  the  delta  which  absorbed  the  fight -movement  were  about  equally 
important  in  preventing  a  further  advance  in  the  Yazoo  Delta  than 

w  as  made  ill  1909. 

HISTORY    IN    TEX  IS. 

Naturally  t  he  st  at  us  of  i  he  ho!  I  weevil  is  shown  by  its  hist  ory  in  the 
region  in  the  United  States  where  it  has  existed  for  the  longest  time. 
1 1  is  therefore  important  to  examine  the  history  of  the  insect  in  Texas. 
On  account  of  great  climatic  variation-,  for  the  purpose  of  determin- 
ing the  manner  in  which  the  hull  weevil  has  affected  cotton  produc- 
tion in  Texas  it  is  necessary  to  divide  the  State  into  three  a 
These  arc  eastern,  central,  and  western  Texas.  The  division-  are 
made  in  accordance  with  variations  in  normal  annual  precipitation 
and  other  factors.  Eastern  Texas  as  used  in  thi>  circular  is  hounded 
on  the  west  by  a  line  running  practically  north  and  south  from  the 
western  fine  of  Lamar  County  to  the  western  fine  of  Brazoria  County. 
In  this  region  t  he  rainfall  is  15  inches  per.  year  or  more.  It  comprises 
the  counties  listed  below."  Practically  the  whole  area  is  covered 
with  forests,  li  covers  10,180  square  miles.  Central  Texas  com- 
prises a  broad  belt  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Red  River,  beginning  on  the 
wesl  with  the  limit  of  the  belt  of  32  inches  normal  annual  rainfall, 
and  extends  eastward    to   the   line   ju>t    described    as  defining  the 

Red  River,  Bowie,  Franklin,  Titus,  Morris,  Cass,  \\ i.  I  amp,  Upshur,  Marion, 

Harrison,  Smith,  Gregg,  I  herokee,  Rusk,  Panola,  Nacogdoches,  Shelby.  San  Augus- 
tine, Sabine,  Angelina,  Trinity,  San  Jacinto,  Polk,  Tyler,  Jasper,  Newton,  Liberty, 
Hardin,  Oi  ferson,  Chi  Lveston,  Lamar,  Delta,  Hopkins,  Rains,  Van 

Zandt,  II-  tone,  Anderson,  !. i,  Houston,  Madison,  Waller,  Grimes, 

Walker,  Montgomery,  Ham-,  Fori  Bend,  and  Brazoria. 


(•) 


THE    STATUS   OF    THE    COTTON    BOLL   WEEVIL   IN    1909. 


western  boundary  of  the  eastern  Texas  area.  Central  Texas  consists 
of  45  counties™  and  comprises  38,868  square  miles.  It  is  for  the 
most  part  prairie  country,  although  there  are  wooded  valleys  and 
occasional  strips  of  timbered  uplands.  Western  Texas  comprises  the 
remainder  of  Texas,  beginning  with  the  line  marking  the  end  of  the 
area  of  32  inches  normal  annual  precipitation.  It  is  largely  a  prairie 
region,  though  wooded  valleys  are  numerous.  Another  factor  in 
differentiating  western  Texas  from  central  Texas  is  the  increased 
elevation. 

A  careful  study  has  been  made  of  the  manner  in  which  the  weevil 
has  affected  the  production  of  cotton  in  the  three  regions  mentioned. 
Use  has  been  made  of  the  census  records  of  production  from  1899  to 
1909,  a  period  of  eleven  years,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  table: 

Eastern,  central,  and  western  Texas  cotton  -production  compared,  1899-1909,  from 

I  nited  States  Census. 

[500-pound  bales.] 


Eastern. 

Central. 

Western." 

Years. 

Bales. 

Per  cent 

of  Texas 

crop. 

Bales. 

Per  cent 

of  Texas 

crop. 

Bales. 

Per  cent 

of  Texas 

crop. 

1899     : 

637,872 
811,  113 
633,620 
736,660 

.M5,  L'ss 

22.44 
23.59 
25.32 
29.48 
22.06 

1,633,618 
1,892,669 
1,448,872 
1,332,487 
1,242,654 

62.61 
55.04 
57.90 
53.34 
50.28 

337, 528 
734,304 
H9.674 
428,866 
683, 139 

12.94 

1900 

21.36 

1901...                                           

ia  77 

1902. . 

17.  17 

1903 

27.  64 

Vverage, 1899-1903 

672,970 

24.88 

1,510,060 

55.85 

520, 702 

19.26 

1904 

7211,071 
329, 523 
672,497 

343, 328 

51. -•,<>.> 
474,311 

22.91 
12.96 
16.  11 
14  92 
13.50 
18.80 

1,700,224 
I,  114,115 
2.213,863 
1,218,143 

l,98(l.7(ii. 
1,362,096 

54.15 
55.63 
53.03 
52.95 
50.60 
53.99 

724, 475 

7'.l\J',l! 
1,287,846 

738, 708 
1.31.S.  li.Sl 

686,  mi 

23.07 

1905 

31.  40 

1906... 

30.  86 

19117 

32.11 

1908 

33.68 

1909. 

27.20 

Average,  1904-1909 

509, 228 

16.  53 

1,648,201 

53.39 

925, 735 

29.72 

a  Including  counties  grouped  by  census  under  "All  other." 

In  eastern  Texas  the  production  for  five  years  ending  with  1903 
averaged  24  per  cent  of  the  total  crop  of  Texas.  During  the  same 
series  of  five  years  western  Texas  averaged  19  per  cent  of  the  total 
crop.  For  the  six  years  ending  with  1909  the  eastern  Texas  pro- 
duction dropped  to  16  per  cent  of  the  total  crop  of  Texas,  while  the 
production  in  western  Texas  advanced  to  29  per  cent  of  the  total  crop 
in  Texas.  In  other  words,  the  portion  of  the  Texas  crop  produced 
in  one  area  has  decreased  24  per  cent  and  in  the  other  it  has  increased 
74  per  cent.  This  increase  in  the  west,  where  the  dry  climate  reduces 
boll-weevil   injury,  served  to  offset  the  loss  in  eastern  Texas,  and 

^Central  Texas  counties:  Cooke,  Grayson,  Fannin,  Denton,  Collin,  Hunt,  Tarrant, 
Dallas,  Rockwall,  Kaufman,  Johnson,  Ellis,  Bosque,  Hill,  Navarro,  McLennan,  Lime- 
stone, Bell,  Falls,  Williamson,  Milam,  Robertson,  Brazos,  Travis,  Lee,  Burleson, 
\Y;i  liiii.L'Inii,  Hays,  Bastrop,  Caldwell,  Fayette,  Colorado,  Austin,  Guadalupe,  Gon- 
zales, Lavaca,  Wharton,  Dewitt,  Goliad,  Victoria.  Jackson,  Refugio,  Calhoun,  Mata- 
gorda, and  Aransas. 


I  II  I     STATUS     l]      DHE  COTTON    BOUL    W  II  VII.    1  \    I  7 

tlms  accounts  to  a  greal  extenl  for  the  fad  thai  the  total  crop  of  the 
State  ha  3  doI  fallen  off. 

The  table  is  introduced  to  show  in  what  manner  the  State  of  Texas 
is  able  to  produce  large  crops  of  col  ton  since  the  advenl  of  i  be  wee\  il. 
There  has  clearly  been  a  falling  oft'  in  the  proportion  of  the  total 
crop  of  the  State  which  easl  Texas  produces.  "While  this  has  hap- 
pened an  extensive  immigration  into  western  Texas,  where  the  v, 
is  unable  to  withstand  the  climatic  conditions,  has  resulted  in  a  pro- 
duction which  more  than  offsets  the  loss  suffered  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  State. 

The  greal  increase  in  production  in  the  western  portion  of  Texas 
is  shown  conspicuously  by  reference  to  individual  counties.  In  1899 
11.. II  County,  in  t he  extreme  western  portion  of  the  State,  produced 
113  bales;  in  1908,  over  17,000  hale-.  Between  the  same  years  the 
crop  in  Jones  County  increased  from  I. nun  hales  to  33,000;  in  Taylor 
County,   from  6,000  to  37,000;  in  Coleman  County,   from   8,000  to 

62, );  and  in  Runnels  County,  from  3,000  to  56,000.     There  was  an 

average  annual  gain  in  the  period  referred  to  in  Hall  County  of 
■  >\<  r  10,000  hale-;  in  Jones  County,  an  average  annual  gain  of  over 
22,000  bales.  The  other  counties  in  that  portion  of  the  State  -how 
similar  records. 

While  this  remarkable  increase  lias  been  accomplished  in  western 
Texas,  there  I,  -  been  a  greal  falling  off  in  tin1  eastern  portion  of  the 
State.  For  instance.  Fannin  Count}  produced  59,000  hales  in  1899 
and  18,000  bales  in  1908.  Likewise,  in  the  same  time  Red  River 
County  fell  from  29,000  hair- to  18,000  hales.  These  conditions  are 
better  illustrated  by  comparing  the  average  annual  production  before 
1  '.mi  1  and  since  that  year.  This  gi\  es  a  period  of  ten  years,  in  half  of 
which  the  boll  weevil  was  distributed  generally  in  eastern  Texas. 
For  the  five  years  ending  with  1908,  tin'  crop  of  Fannin  County 
showed  an  average  annual  loss  of  16,752  hales;  Lamar  County,  an 
average  annual  loss  of  10,246  hales;  Red  Liver  County,  of  11,576 
hale-:  and  Grayson  County,  of  lit. 171  bales 


'Tli.  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  attributes  the  reduction  in  cotton  production  in 
easl  Texas  t"  the  follow  Log  causes,  in  addition  in  the  boll  weevil: 

First.  The  construction  of  railroads  and  sawmills  in  the  long-leaf  pine  counties, 
which,  by  their  higher  wage,  drew  thi  ii  main  supply  of  labor  from  the  small  farms  of 
that  -  <  tion. 

h1.  The  introduction  of  more  profitable  lines  of  agriculture,  such  as  wrapper 
o,  truck  gardening,  small  fruits,  peaches  and  pears,  for  which  east   Texas  is 
well  adapted 
Third.  The  Ti  ustry,  which  in   the  past 

.i.i.l  attracted  many  small  farmers  from  ea  I  Texas. 

il  •    orl  made  bj  the  I  nited  States  Department  of  Agriculture 
Mi.   farmei  their  home  supplies,  which  has  had  considerable  • 

This  readjustment  of  agriculture  in  east  Ti  i  reduction  of  the  acreage  in 

i  and  the  s  and  cash  crops  would,  however,  b 

in  any  event.     Ii  was  Bimplj  hastened  bj  the  advent  of  the  weevil. 


8  THE    STATUS   OF    THE    COTTON    BOLL    WEEVIL   IN    1909. 

Mr.  F.  W.  Gist,  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  this  Department,  has 
made  a  very  careful  study  to  determine  the  center  of  cotton  produc- 
tion in  Texas  for  each  year  from  1899  to  1908.  As  would  be  sup- 
posed from  the  figures  that  have  been  given,  it  was  found  by  Mr.  Gist 
that  the  center  of  production  had  moved  considerably  to  the  west- 
ward. In  fact,  this  center  moved  from  30.78  miles  east  of  the  ninety- 
seventh  meridian  in  1899  to  19.14  miles  west  of  this  meridian  in 
1908.  This  was  a  westward  movement  of  practically  50  miles.  The 
center  of  production  in  1899  was  on  a  line  passing  north  and  south 
through  the  eastern  portion  of  Grayson  County,  in  Texas.  In  1908 
the  center  had  moved  to  a  line  passing  parallel  with  the  other  through 
the  western  portion  of  Cooke  County,  in  Texas. 

The  situation  in  central  Texas  is  most  interesting.  This  area  in 
the  five-year  period  ending  with  1903  produced  55  per  cent  of  the 
Texas  crop.  For  the  six-year  period  ending  with  1909  it  produced 
53  per  cent  of  the  Texas  crop.  This  shows  that  for  practical  pur- 
poses the  production  in  the  central  portion  of  the  State  has  been 
maintained  in  spite  of  the  weevil.  This  has  been  very  largely  due 
to  the  efforts  that  have  been  put  forth  by  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, and  indicates  that  in  central  Texas  the  control  of  the  weevil 
for  practical  purposes  is  an  accomplished  fact. 

In  this  connection  attention  may  be  directed  to  the  fact  that  there 
is  a  tendency  to  attribute  to  the  boll  weevil  more  damage  than  is 
rightly  chargeable  to  the  insect.  Climatic  conditions,  changes  in 
acreage,  and  other  factors,  including  the  work  of  the  bollworm  and 
leaf  worm,  caused  great  variations  in  production  in  any  locality, from 
year  to  year,  before  the  advent  of  the  boll  weevil.  Careful  allow- 
ance must  be  made  for  the  effects  of  such  factors  in  determining  the 
extent  to  which  the  boll  weevil  has  affected  the  crop.  In  the  state- 
ments made  in  this  paper  a  careful  attempt  has  been  made  to  avoid 
overestimating  the  effect  on  the  crop  due  to  the  boll  weevil. 

THE    CHAIN    CULTIVATOR. 

Though  not  perhaps  strictly  connected  with  the  status  of  the 
weevil,  the  opportunity  is  taken  to  discuss  briefly  an  important 
machine  for  use  in  weevil  control.  As  the  result  of  man}'  examina- 
tions to  determine  the  natural  mortality  of  weevils  in  cotton  fields,  it 
was  found  that  when  infested  squares  fell  to  the  middles,  where 
they- were  exposed  to  the  unobstructed  lays  of  the  sun,  the  great 
majority  of  the  weevils  perished  in  a  remarkably  short  time.  Under 
natural  conditions  the  bulk  of  the  squares  fall  in  the  shade  of  the 
plants.  Therefore  attempts  were  at  once  made  to  devise  a  machine 
that  would  carry  the  infested  squares  from  shaded  areas  to  the 
middles,  where  they  would  he  exposed  to  the  sun.  After  a  great 
deal  of  study  and  experimentation  Dr.  W.  E.  Hinds,  now  professor  of 


CHE  STATUS  0]      111!     COTTON    BOLL    Y\  I  1  \  [L    IN    L909.  9 

entomology  in  the  Alabama  Polytechnic  I  olle  e,  perfected  a  < 
that  has  been  found  to  accomplish  tins  work  in  a  very  satisfactory 
manner.     It  consists  of  two  series  of  chains  arranged  on  a  wheeiless 
carriage  in  such  a  k  ay  thai  thi  anterior  ends  pass  close  to  the  base  oi 

the  plants,  while  t  lie  opposil  e  exl  remit  ies  pass  about  inidu  ay  bet  w  een 
the  rows.  The  inner  posterior  ends  of  the  chains  approach  within  about 
8  inches  of  each  other.  As  this  machine  is  pulled  through  the  field 
the  ureal  majority  of  the  squares  are  dragged  to  the  middles  and 
deposited  in  a  narrow  row.  In  addition  to  the  work  of  placing  the 
squares  w  here  i  hey  will  be  acted  upon  by  the  sun.  the  chain  cultivator 
has  been  found  to  bave  an  exceedingly  important  cultural  effect.  It 
destroys  small  weeds,  reduces  clods,  and  fills  the  cracks.  In  fact,  it 
establishes  a  dust  mulch,  which  is  greatly  to  be  desired  in  cotton 
culture. 

An  experiment  performed  in  1908  showed  the  effects  of  the  prac- 
tical use  of  this  machine.  Half  of  a  small  held  was  cultivated  in  pail 
by  the  chain  cult  ivator  and  the  remainder  in  t  he  usual  manner.  The 
yield  was  increased  by  L31  pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre  where  the 
machine  was  used.  This  amounted  to  a  gain  per  acre  of  $3.93,  or 
practically  what  the  machine  can  he  manufactured  for.  No  extra 
labor  was  involved  in  the  use  of  the  machine,  since  its  use  merely 
replaced  the  use  of  the  ordinary  implements  for  the  later  workings 
of  t he  crop.  This  experiment  show s  in  a  pracl ical  way  t he  usefulness 
of  the  machine,  which  should  eventually  come  into  common  use  as 
much  for  its  cultural  effect  as  for  weevil  control.  It  is  the  direct 
result  of  strict  !y  invesl  igal  tonal  w  ork.     The  invent  or  of  this  machine 

surrendered  all  his  rights  as  to  loyalties  to  the  Department  of  A  ii- 
culture,  SO  that  its  manufacture  may  he  taken  up  by  any  individual 
or  company  without  the  payment  of  fee-,  to  anyone  whatever. 

The  possible  wide  usefulness  of  the  chain  cultivator  was  appre- 
ciated by  one  of  the  largest  implement  concerns  of  the  United  State-, 
which  undertook  the  manufacture  of  loo  of  them  to  be  distributed 
during  the  season  of  1909.  Several  practical  tots  were  made  during 
that  season,  and  they  showed  that  the  hopes  for  the  implement  were 
not  too  high.  Many  planters  who  have  witnessed  the  operation  of 
the  implement  are  arranging  to  use  it  for  com  as  well  as  for  cotton. 

r\i:  \-i  i  ES  OF  THE   WEEVIL. 

The  insect  enemies  of  the  weevil  are  practically  dependent  upon 
it  forfood.  Therefore  any  conditions  thai  affecl  the  weevil  adversely 
over  a  large  extent  of  territory  also  affect  the  parasites.  On  this 
account  work  of  die  insect  enemies  of  the  boll  weevil  in  1909  was 

not  at  all  conspicuous.  Nevertheless  important  advances  were  made 
in  the  studies  of  the  practical  utilization  of  these  enemies  of  the 
wee\  it.     One  parasite  that  has  attacked  the  weevil  in  Texas  may  have 


10  THE    STATUS   OF    THE   COTTON   BOLL    WEEVIL    IN    1909. 

extended  its  range  to  the  Mississippi  River,  and  another,  hitherto 
apparently  restricted  to  the  eastern  portion  of  Louisiana,  has  heen 
found  in  Texas.  There  can  be  no  absolute  certainty  that  these 
species  have  actually  extended  their  range,  but  at  any  rate  they 
were  found  over  unexpectedly  large  areas.  The  fact  that  they  do 
not  appear  to  be  as  restricted  to  certain  regions  as  seemed  at  first  to 
be  the  case  undoubtedly  serves  to  increase  their  potential  importance 
as  enemies  of  the  boll  weevil. 

In  spite  of  the  most  unfavorable  conditions  the  parasites  caused 
a  considerable  weevil  mortality.  The  average  total  control  of  the 
boll  weevil  by  its  insect  enemies  throughout  the  season  of  1909  was 
16  per  cent.  This  total  is  smaller  than  in  preceding  years,  but  this 
is  clearly  due  to  the  adverse  conditions  in  the  infested  areas  that  have 
been  described.  It  is  very  noticeable  that  the  work  of  the  parasites 
in  hanging  squares  was  considerable.  It  ranged  in  Texas  from  46  to 
54  per  cent.  That  is,  nearly  half  of  the  weevil  stages  found  in  hang- 
ing squares  were  destroyed  by  natural  enemies. 

The  work  of  the  year  added  several  species  to  the  list  of  known 
insect  enemies  of  the  boll  weevil.  The  list  now  includes  49  forms, 
of  which  26  are  parasites  in  the  true  sense — that  is,  dependent  upon 
the  boll  weevil  for  furnishing  food  for  their  young,  because  their 
eggs  are  deposited  upon  the  weevil — and  23  are  predatory  species, 
which  merely  devour  the  boll  weevil  but  do  not  deposit  their  eggs 
upon  or  in  it. 

IMPORTANT   ADVANCE    IN    THE    CONTROL   OF   THE    BOLL    WEEVIL. 

During  the  season  of  1909  a  noteworthy  advance  was  made  in  the 
control  of  the  boll  weevil  by  means  of  a  poison.  The  credit  for  this 
achievement  belongs  to  Mr.  Wilrnon  Newell,  of  the  State  Crop  Pest 
Commission  of  Louisiana.  In  experiments  with  Paris  green  for  the 
destruction  of  the  boll  weevil,  carried  on  in  previous  seasons,  it  was 
found  that  a  certain  number  of  the  insects  was  killed.  It  occurred 
to  Mr.  Newell  that  the  number  reached  by  the  poison  could  be 
increased  greatly  if  a  substance  much  finer  than  Paris  green  could  be 
obtained.  Arsenate  of  lead  was  the  poison  that  was  selected.  Very 
large  quantities  of  arsenate  of  lead  may  be  applied  to  growing  plants 
without  any  injury  whatever.  In  the  use  of  Paris  green  the  pres- 
ence of  a  small  amount  of  free  arsenic  causes  considerable  damage 
to  cotton  plants  if  it  is  applied  at  the  rate  of  as  little  as  5  pounds  per 
acre.  Mr.  Newell  succeeded  in  having  an  entirely  new  form  of 
arsenate  of  lead  made  by  one  of  the  manufacturers  of  insecticides. 
The  substance  is  an  exceedingly  fine  powder  that  can  be  forced  into 
the  "buds"  and  even  into  the  covering  of  the  squares  of  the  cotton 
plant  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  a  comparatively  coarse  powder 
hke  Paris  green.     The  preparation  of  this  form  of  arsenate  of  lead 


1111.   STATUS  OF   THE   COTTOH    BOLL   WEEVIL  IN    L909.  11 

consequently  obviated  two  important  difficulties  thai  attended  the 
use  of  Paris  green;  thai  is,  the  danger  of  burning  the  plants  by  large 
applications  and  the  difficulty  in  forcing  the  substance  into  the  parts 
of  the  plants  where  it  would  be  taken  up  by  the  insect.  Tims  the 
foundation  was  laid  for  very  greatly  increasing  the  mortality  that 
had  previously  been  obtained  from  the  use  of  another  poison. 

In  1909  the  State  Crop  Pesl  Commission  of  Louisiana  had  thirteen 
experiments  with  powdered  arsenate  of  lead,  located  at  differenl 
places,  comprising  over  46  acres.  The  poison  was  applied  at  from  l 
pound  to  51  pounds  per  acre.  In  differenl  experiments  from  one  to 
ten  applications  were  made.  In  all  but  one  of  these  experiments  an 
increased  crop  was  obtained  that  resulted  in  a  profit,  after  deducting 
the  expense  incurred,  which  varied  from  a  few  cents  to  $23  per  acre. 
In  the  one  experiment  which  did  not  result  in  a  net  profit  an  increased 

yield  of  1-1    pounds  of  seed  cotton  per  acre  was  obtained.      The  very 

Large  amount  of  poison  used  in  this  case  (51  pounds  per  acre)  involved 
such  au  expense  that  this  increased  yield  was  not  sufficienl  to  offsel 
it.  In  the  experiments  in  which  from  10  to  23  pounds  of  the  poison 
per  acre  were  used  in  from  five  to  seven  applications,  the  net  profit 
ran  from  S3. 63  to  $2o..Vl  per  acre.  The  most  profitable  amount  of 
the  poison  to  be  used  seems  thus  to  be  indicated,  although  the  con- 
clusions from  the  preliminary  work  may  be  changed  as  the  result  of 
future  investigations. 

It  is  important  to  note  that  the  very  encouraging  results  obtained 
by  Mr.  Newell  were  in  experiments  in  which  the  application  ^\'  the 
poison  was  made  either  by  one  of  his  representatives  or  under  this 
representative's  directions.  A  large  part  of  the  efficiency  of  pow- 
dered arsenate  of  lead  seems  to  be  due  to  the  thoroughness  of  the 
application.  It  is  therefore  to  be  supposed  that  under  the  practical 
conditions  obtaining  on  plantations  it  may  not  be  possible  to  obtain 
as  successful  results  as  those  in  >onie  o(  the  experiments  described. 

It  does  qoI  detract  from  the  high  value  of  Mr.  Newell's  discovery 
to  state  that  all  the  experiments  that  have  been  performed  indicate 
mosl  clearly  that  powdered  arsenate  of  lead  is  not  an  absolute'  specific 
for  the  weevil  in  the  sense  that  it  can  be  relied  upon  to  the  omission 
or  neglect  of  other  means  of  control.  The  early  fall  destruction  of 
the  cotton  plants  is  undoubtedly  a  condition  necessary  to  the  suc- 
cessful Use  of  the  poison.  Likewise,  the  Other  steps  in  the  system  of 
control  advocated  by  the  Bureau  of  Entomology  are  not  minimized  by 
the  importance  of  the  present  discovery.  At  most  t  he  poison  merely 
places  another  means  of  control  at  the  command  of  the  planter. 
Everything  indicates  that  it  will  be  an  important  means.  Thesystem 
of  control  in  Use  has  been  to  a  certain  extent  a  combination  of  expe- 
dients for  avoiding  damage  rather  than  of  ways  of  actually  killing  the 
weevils.     In  fact,  the  early  fall  destruction  of  the  weevils  by  burning 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


12  THE   STATUS  OF  THE   COTTON   BOLI         """""^j  '^52  09216  5397 

the  plants  has  been  the  only  important  and  generally  applicable 
direct  means  at  the  command  of  the  planter.  Powdered  arsenate  of 
lead  is  especially  important  as  a  direct  means  of  killing  weevils  that 
may  be  applied  at  a  season  in  which  hitherto  no  important  means  of 
a  direct  nature  have  been  available.  Extensive  work  that  is  now 
being  planned  it  is  hoped  will  lead  to  definite  recommendations  as  to 
the  procedure  to  be  followed  in  the  use  of  the  poison  for  the  greatest 
possible  profit  under  various  conditions. 

The  most  important  difficulty  that  is  likely  to  be  encountered  in 
the  use  of  powdered  arsenate  of  lead  against  the  boll  weevil  is  the 
possible  deleterious  effect  of  the  poison  in  the  soil.  Recent  investi- 
gations conducted  in  orchards  in  Colorado  where  spraying  of  arsen- 
icals  has  been  practiced  for  many  years  seem  to  indicate  that  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  damage  has  resulted  from  the  arsenic  that  has 
become  lodged  in  the  soil  near  the  bases  of  the  trees.  In  fact,  Prof. 
W.  P.  Headden  believes  that  in  addition  to  the  caustic  effect  of  the 
arsenic  on  the  roots  of  the  trees  there  is  a  probability  that  damage  is 
done  the  plants  by  absorption.  At  any  rate,  cases  have  been  observed 
where  the  general  health  of  the  trees  seems  to  have  been  affected  in 
such  a  manner  as  would  only  seem  likely  to  result  from  absorption. 
Although  this  matter  is  by  no  means  fully  understood  at  this  time, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  investigate  carefully  the  possibility  of  injuri- 
ous effects  on  cotton  lands  from  repeated  annual  applications  of 
such  large  quantities  of  powdered  arsenate  of  lead  as  were  found  to 
be  profitable  in  the  experimental  work  in  controlling  the  boll  weevil. 
If  the  cumulative  effect  of  these  applications  is  at  all  considerable, 
the  use  of  the  poison  can  not  be  advised.  At  the  same  time  there  is 
a  possibility  that  something  may  be  done  in  the  counteracting  of  the 
possible  deleterious  effects  of  arsenate  of  lead  by  the  application  of 
some  material  witli  the  fertilizers. 

Approved : 

James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 
Washington,  D.  C.,  April  /.  1910. 


O 


